Lift siege, SERAP tells Fed Govt

SOCIO-ECONOMIC Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged “Nigeria’s authorities to immediately lift the siege to the offices of Sahara Reporters and Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), end the illegality and allow journalists, activists and civil society to operate freely”.

A statement on Wednesday by its Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, said: “Nigeria’s security agents and state governors should also immediately stop the nationwide campaign of arbitrary arrests against journalists, activists and protesters. The attack on Sahara Reporters and CDHR is coming on the heels of staggering crackdown on critics, journalists and activists by many state governors.”

The statement added: “Federal authorities and many state governors are targeting journalists, critics and activists in clear violation of Nigeria’s Constitution of 1999 (as amended) and international obligations, as a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to requiring the authorities to respect fundamental rights and the rules of law.

“These attacks are clearly aimed at silencing the kind of journalism and investigative reporting that makes Federal and state governments uncomfortable. President Muhammadu Buhari now needs to make clear that he does not want any part of this kind of behaviour and that unacceptable and dangerous threats and attacks against journalists, protesters and activists will be fully investigated.”